Category: Inspiration

As we move from January to February, we no longer make mistakes writing the date—we’re comfortable with it being 2018 now. But “comfortable” cuts both ways, and it’s often all too easy to let that New Year’s excitement slip away. Instead of remaining passionate about what we were going to change, we get “comfortable” with things staying the same.

Which makes this the perfect time to redouble your efforts to stick to your 2018 goals! To help you do just that, we’ve assembled a shortlist of tips that will help you stay on track.

When we’re down, feeling unmotivated, and in need of a spark, we often turn to the internet for help. We go looking for those stories that energize and inspire us. We want to be uplifted. But inspiration is not all we go looking for—we seek information as well. We want knowledge, evidence, facts. We want to know what it takes to succeed, and how to get it.

There was a time when inspiration-seekers would go to LinkedIn for all the above and more.

But today, many people complain of shady recruiting solicitations, and too many self-proclaimed influencers parroting empty clichés. They bemoan a ceaseless parade of pinterest-esque aphorisms about leadership, and smug recitations of how someone hired someone despite their lack of qualifications. Many have taken to LinkedIn to complain about the above, and many others have complained about the complaints.

If these trends have put you off LinkedIn, you’re apparently not alone.

But we encourage you to look again at LinkedIn, because amongst all the noise and chatter, there can still be found powerful stories from hard-working lifelong learners who are accomplishing amazing things in their lives every day.

Less than 5 years ago, I was working on Afghanistan programs at the U.S. State Department, where the most advanced tech we used was Microsoft Excel. I had zero programming experience. Today, I’m a software engineer at one of the most successful education startups in Silicon Valley.